Welcome to your guide on navigating your benefits! Whether you're a new employee exploring your options, a current team member seeking to make changes, or someone looking for clarity on eligibility, this resource is designed to help you every step of the way.
Here, you'll find detailed information on how to enroll in your benefits, understand your eligibility, and make necessary adjustments as your life and career evolve. Our goal is to ensure that you have all the tools and knowledge essential to make informed decisions and maximize the value of your benefits package. Let's get started on your journey to understanding and optimizing your benefits!
General Eligibility Requirements
For a comprehensive list of benefits available to each group, please refer to the corresponding benefits pages specific to your classification.
Employees
- Regular Faculty and Staff
UI employees holding a regular appointment of 50% or greater, along with their eligible dependents, qualify for participation in the institution's full benefits package. - Temporary Employees
Individuals receiving compensation from the University may be eligible for temporary health and dental insurance coverage, if appointed at 50% or greater for at least six months. - House Staff Employees
House staff members become benefits eligible on the first of the month following their contract start date. Due to their employment classification, their benefits package is more limited in scope than that of regular employees. - Unpaid J-1 Employees
Required that J-1 and J-2 family members MUST have UI health insurance.
Students
- Undergraduate Students
Undergrad students must be degree-seeking and enrolled in five (5) or more credit hours. They may only enroll in the Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP) and the student dental plan. - Graduate and Health Science Students
Graduate and health science students must be degree-seeking to be eligible (no credit hour requirement). These students can enroll in either health plan, SHIP, or UIGRADCare, and the student dental plan. - Employed Grad Students
Graduate students who hold an assistantship of at least 25% time or a fellowship of at least $5,000 for the semester or $10,000 per academic year and are registered for classes. Employed grad students have an expanded benefits package and should review this on the specific corresponding page.
Retirees
For a retiree to be eligible for health and dental coverage with the university, they must meet the following criteria:
- Age 55+ at the time of retirement from the University
- Age 62+ with ten or more years of continuous benefits-eligible service to receive the UI contribution toward the cost of health insurance.
- At the time of retirement, you do not need to be enrolled in health and/or dental coverage as an active employee to elect coverage at retirement. Retirement is considered a qualifying event for enrolling in health and/or dental coverage, including coverage for family members. The retiree must elect coverage at retirement, with the effective date of coverage being the first day of the month following the retiree's last day of work.
- Retiree's and their eligible dependents are eligible to enroll in UIChoice, UISelect, and Dental II plans.
Enrollment
Employees
- Regular Employees & House Staff
These employees have 30 days from their date of hire to submit their benefit elections within Employee Self-Service. - Temporary and J-1 Employees
These employees have 30 days from the date of hire and must work through their department, and the Benefits Office to make elections.
Students
All students have the same 3 enrollment periods:
- August 1 - September 9
- January 1 - February 9
- May 1 - June 9
Enrollment elections must be made through the students MyUI portal. The only exception is Post doctoral and research interns who will enroll directly with the Benefits Office.
Retirees
Employees who are retiring and would like to enroll in UI retiree insurance must work with an HR Specialist in the Benefits Office to complete a Retirement Checklist - this must be done within 30 days of termination. However, University Benefits recommends that the employee meet with their office 6-12 weeks out from their final retirement date.
Double Spouse
The Dual University of Iowa employed spouses/partners, and any children may not double insure each other or dependents under the plans where the university contributes to the plans' cost. This includes the health, dental, and accidental death and dismemberment insurance policies—an individual may only be included once under these policies.
Taxes
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has determined that if an employer allows employees to insure dependent children past the age of 26 who do not qualify as the employee’s tax dependents, there is a value that must be added to the employee’s taxable salary when reporting income earned on the annual W-2. More information can be found on the taxable health insurance page. In addition, the university requires information for children over the age of 26 on an annual basis (twice a year for students) to confirm eligibility due to student or disabled status and tax dependent status.
There are also potential tax implications for covering a domestic partner. The domestic partner information page contains more information.